HAITI'S TOP JUDGE LASHES JUDICIARY FOR CORRUPTION,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001460 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR, DRL, S/CRS, INR/IAA SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR TREASURY FOR MAUREEN WAFER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM HA SUBJECT: HAITI'S TOP JUDGE LASHES JUDICIARY FOR CORRUPTION, INCOMPETENCE REF: 07 PORT AU PRINCE 1955 PORT AU PR 00001460 001.2 OF 002 Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Haiti's top judge opened this year's judicial session with a scathing critique of corruption and incompetence in the criminal justice system and associated government offices. He outlined areas where reform is badly needed, particularly the setting up of the already mandated Superior Council of the Judiciary to manage courts and supervise judges, better training of lawyers and judges, and higher salaries for the latter. The Prime Minister called for judicial independence from the Executive Branch. End summary. ¶2. (U) Polcouns attended the opening of the 2008-2009 judicial year held at the Palace of Justice. The nation's highest judge, Vice President of the Supreme Court of Appeals (Cour de Cassation) Georges Moises, presided over the session. Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, Senate President Kely Bastien, Secretary of State for Judicial Reform Daniel Jean, Director General for Justice and Public Security Josue Pierre-Louis, and members of the diplomatic corps were in attendance. (Note: this court is the highest court in the land. Since the Presidency of this court is vacant, Moises is its highest-ranking member. End note.) Moises gave a stinging tour d'horizon of the state of Haiti's judicial system. While noting that courts had increased the number of cases processed and decisions rendered, Moises identified several basic faults in Haiti's judicial system. Incompetence -------------- ¶3. (U) Moises noted that cases languish months before coming on the docket. Prosecutors then take as long as a year to bring an indictment, and judges take an equal amount of time to render a decision. Moises pointed out that a simple increase in the number of courtrooms would help remedy this bottleneck, but pointed to other problems more deeply embedded in the system. Judges' decisions and verdicts often failed to meet minimal standards, and often simply sided with the arguments of plaintiff or defendant while giving no legal justification. Defense attorneys with good cases often lost by failing to file papers on time or comply with other procedural requirements. Moises praised the Haitian Bar Association for setting up a school to train newly-minted lawyers in court procedures and professional ethics. Investigative magistrates and judges also needed supplementary training to be able to cope with the traps set for them by their colleagues and defense attorneys. Corruption -------------- ¶4. (U) Moises went on to accuse the entire judiciary and associated government institutions of corruption. He declared that many judges rendered decisions based on ''nepotism or favoritism'' or in exchange for monetary payments. Certain defense attorneys bribed judges; court bailiffs pushed certain cases to the fore, often at the behest of defense attorneys. Court clerks and stenographers caused documents in a file to disappear or falsified court reports and court judgments. Notaries drew up falsified documents. Surveyors delivered falsified reports. Civil Registry officials routinely issued false certificates of birth, death and marriage. Such corruption was a primary source of ''judicial insecurity'' in Haiti. ¶5. (U) The Supreme Court Vice President softened the blow by stating that corrupt officials were a minority, and that the majority helped guarantee judicial independence. The Superior Council of the Judiciary, mandated by legislation passed last year (reftel) and still in the process of being set up, would assume the role of managing the courts' budgets and disciplining wayward judges. Moises stated that the PORT AU PR 00001460 002.2 OF 002 reform law of last year regulating the status of judicial magistrates required that these officials receive a substantial pay raise beginning with the new fiscal year. He predicted that magistrates who were more financially secure would be better able to resist corrupt solicitations. Further Reform Needed -------------- ¶6. (U) Looking ahead, Moises pointed out that Haiti still has to reduce long periods of preventive detention and bring detainees to trial. Criminal and procedural codes have to be reformed. Haiti has yet to set up a system of court-provided attorneys for the poor. Haiti still lacks sufficient numbers of first-level courts (tribunaux de paix). A table of judicial fees have not been published. Many areas of the country lack access to justice; he proposed that Haiti establish a system of judicial circuit riders. Finally, Moises urged the Haitian National Police (HNP) and investigating magistrates to establish a more cooperative relationship by refraining from provocative statements about each other. ¶7. (U) The Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Justice and Public Security, Michele Pierre-Louis, stressed judicial independence. She promised that the Minister of Justice would not interfere in judicial cases, out of respect for the separation of powers. The PM echoed in general terms Moises' remarks in favor of judicial reform, particularly the need to free people of overly lengthy judicial proceedings. She declared that in a democratic system of justice, no one is above the law, including the state. Comment -------------- ¶8. (U) Moises' sharp commentary on the condition of Haiti's judiciary was unprecedented for a senior judicial official in recent times. He identified all the system's institutional vulnerabilities related to lack of training, incompetence, and corruption. He passed over one fault -- executive interference in the judiciary -- which PM Pierre-Louis said she would try to correct. In any case, Haiti still has a long way to go in building its judiciary to meet minimum standards of competence, probity, and independence. SANDERSON